In December last year, the ongoing political power struggle between President Tshisekedi and his coalition partner – former president Joseph Kabila – culminated with a public declaration of Tshisekedi in which he announced his intention to form a new majority government. Irrespective of the scenario that will unfold in the coming months, the political situation will remain extremely fragile and volatile. Not only does this latest political crisis add up to increasing security problems in the Central African region, the risk that it will lead to a repetition of the undemocratic, fraudulent practices surrounding the previous elections in 2018 looms large.
In this policy brief, PAX and EurAc call upon national and international policymakers to make all necessary provisions to guarantee free, fair and transparent elections by 2023. The first step will be the reform of the national electoral commission into a technical, impartial and politically independent institution.
